During the Restoration Wars, the humans and elves of the Contested Lands fought side by side for the first time. When the war was over, many of them wanted to establish the Contested Lands as an independent nation, and thus free themselves from AvLee and Erathia. The rebels gathered popular support, but knew they couldn't last without a strong base of operations. Faruk Welnin, the mayor of Welnin, offered the group his protection and support, and they decided to travel there and make it their home.